Tamkeen & BMI Bank Sign Extension to Shariah Compliant Finance Scheme

Tamkeen and BMI Bank, a subsidiary of Al Salam Bank – Bahrain, today announced an extension to their successful alliance providing Shari’ah-compliant financing for enterprises within the local private sector to fulfill their financial needs at a competitive cost.

Initially launched in November 2010, the joint scheme offers a suite of Shari’ah-compliant financial products under the umbrella of the Islamic Banking division within the Bank aimed at small and medium enterprises including startups, as part of Tamkeen’s finance scheme offered by Tamkeen for the private sector. The new agreement marks the fourth contribution of BHD 10 million made by the Bank expanding the total portfolio to a total of BHD 40 million whilst the total value of Tamkeen’s finance scheme is BHD 302 million.

As part of the agreement, which Tamkeen runs through several leading Banks in Bahrain including BMI Bank, Tamkeen will guarantee 50 per cent of the total financing amount as well as subsidise 50 per cent of the profit payments due from customers. Through this financing scheme, enterprises within the private sector are eligible to receive financing ranging from BHD 10,000 to BHD 500,000 to help design a higher growth trajectory for their companies. Since its launch, Tamkeen’s finance scheme has enabled over 5172 establishments to obtain the capital required for developing and promoting their activities, of which 1553 are startups. As of May 2014, over 167 establishments have taken advantage of the special scheme between Tamkeen and BMI Bank.

Through Tamkeen’s Finance scheme to small & medium enterprises including startups, Tamkeen promotes a strong culture of corporate finance which helps in bridging the gap that is seen in procuring finance by the sector. Additionally, Banks participating in Tamkeen’s finance scheme play a major part in bolstering corporations within the private sector, which ultimately enhances the private sectors capacity and capability as a major contributor towards the national economy.

Commenting on this occasion, Tamkeen’s Vice President – Private Sector Support, Mohammed Ali Bucheery said: “As part of Tamkeen’s goals towards fostering the growth and promotion of the private sector, we are glad to continue our successful partnership with BMI Bank to offer further opportunities for small & medium enterprises and entrepreneurs in Kingdom of Bahrain. This will allow them to acquire flexible finance solutions. Corporate finance plays a key role in filling the finance gap faced by small & medium enterprises. In addition, this scheme urges corporations to finance their growth plans.”

Jamal Al-Hazeem, Director and Chief Executive Officer of BMI Bank said: “As a leading and responsible local Bank, we are honoured to further extend our relationship with our partner Tamkeen by entering the fourth phase of the scheme. One of the significant characters of a flourishing and fast-growing economy is a thriving small and medium enterprises (SME) sector. We, at BMI Bank feel extremely gratified to be able to participate in creating a better environment for SMEs to thrive in and contribute to the process of nation building.”